while Robert Browning at the organ chased a fugue, or dreamed out upon the twilight keys a faint throbbing toccata of Galuppi." Under such circumstances the present poem was conceived and written. It was published in 1855, in the first volume of Men and Women. Baldassare Galuppi was born on the island of Burano, near Venice, October 15, 1706, and died in Venice, January 3, 1785. As a boy he became an organist in Venice, soon began to produce operas, became the maestro of St. Mark's in 1762, and four years later went to St. Petersburg at the invitation of Catherine II. He produced more than fifty operas and much church music. His music was characterized by melody, feeling, and spirited expression. Miss Helen J. Ormerod's paper on Browning's music poems gives an account of the musical significance of this poem: "That the minor predominated in this quaint old piece (Toccata, by the way, means Touch-piece, and probably was written to display the delicacy of the composer's touch) is evident from the mention of those lesser thirds so plaintive, sixths diminished, sigh on sigh; those commiserating sevenths.' The interval of the third is one of the most important: the signature of a piece may mislead one, the same signature standing for a major key and its relative minor; but the third of the opening chord decides the question, a lesser 'plaintive' third (composed of a tone and a semitone) showing the key to be minor, the greater third (composed of two whole tones) showing the key to be major. Pauer tells that 'the minor third gives the idea of tenderness, grief, and romantic feeling.' Next come the 'diminished sixths :' these are sixths possessing a semitone less than a minor sixth, for instance from C sharp to A flat; this interval in a different key would stand as a perfect fifth. 'These suspensions, these solutions,' - a suspension is the stoppage of one or more parts for a moment, while the others move on; this produces a dissonance, which is only resolved by the parts which produced it, moving on to the position which would have been theirs had the parts moved simultaneously. We can understand that 'these suspensions, these solutions,' might teach the Venetians, as they teach us, lessons of experience and hope; light after darkness, joy after sorrow, smiles after tears. These commiserating sevenths of all dissonances, none is so pleasing to the ear or so attractive to musicians as that of minor and diminished sevenths, that of the major seventh being crude and harsh; in fact the minor seventh is so charming in its discord as to suggest concord. Again, to quote from Pauer:It is the antithesis of discord and concord which fascinates and charms the ear; it is the necessary solution and return to unity which delights us.'

"After all this, the love-making begins again, but kisses are interrupted by the dominant's persistence [the dominant is the fifth, the most characteristic note of the scale] till it must be answered to;' this seems to indicate the close of the piece, the dominant being answered by an octave which suggests the perfect authentic cadence, in which the chord of the dominant is followed by that of the tonic."

37. OLD PICTURES IN FLORENCE. (ii. 7) bell-tower Giotto raised, the Campanile of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, of which Giotto furnished the model and executed sculptures and reliefs.

viii. 8, Da Vincis derive from Dallos, contrast between the noble

artistic work of Leonardo da Vinci, 1452–1519, and the nice but weak work of Niccolo Dello.

ix. 5, Stefano, Florentine painter, pupil of Giotto's, and called the "Ape of Nature," because of the accuracy of his representations of the human body.

xiii. 2, Theseus, a reclining statue from the eastern pediment of the Parthenon, now in the British Museum. (3) Son of Priam, the Paris of the Eginetan sculptures, kneeling and drawing a bow, now in the Glyptothek in Munich. (5) slay your snake like Apollo; Browning explained this allusion as follows: "A word on the line about Apollo the snake-slayer, which my friend Professor Colvin condemns, believing that the god of the Belvedere grasps no bow, but the ægis, as described in the 15th Iliad. Surely the text represents that portentous object (θοῦριν, δεινήν, ἀμφιδάσειαν, ἀριπρεπέ — μαρμαρέην) as 'shaken violently' or 'held immovably' by both hands, not a single one, and that the left hand :

ἀλλὰ σύ γ' ἐν χείρεσσι λάβ' αἰγίδα θυσανόεσσαν

τὴν μάλ' επίσσείων φοβέειν ἥρωας Αχαιούς.

and so on, τὴν ἄρ ὃ γ ̓ ἐν χείρεσσιν ἔχων – χερσὶν ἔχ ̓ ἀτρέμα, κ.τ.λ. Moreover, while he shook it he 'shouted enormously,' σeio', ènì d' avTòs avσe μára μéya, which the statue does not. Presently when Teukros, on the other side, plies the bow, it is Tókov éxwv èv xeipì waλívTOVOV. Besides, by the act of discharging an arrow, the right arm and hand are thrown back as we see, -a quite gratuitous and theatrical display in the case supposed. The conjecture of Flaxman that the statue was suggested by the bronze Apollo Alexikakos of Kalamis, mentioned by Pausanias, remains probable; though the ‘hardness' which Cicero considers to distinguish the artist's workmanship from that of Muron is not by any means apparent in our marble copy, if it be one. - R. B., February 16, 1880.' (6) Niobe's the grander, statue of that unfortunate mother mourning the death of her children, in a group now in Uffizi Palace, Florence. (7) Racers' frieze, that from the Parthenon. (8) dying Alexander, sculptured head at Florence, one of the finest pieces of ancient Greek sculpture, thought to represent Alexander or Lysippus, but best authorities think neither was intended.

xvii. 6, Thy one work, done at a stroke, refers to story told by Vasari, that Benedict IX. applied through a messenger for a specimen of Giotto's work. "Giotto, who was very courteous, took a sheet of paper, and a pencil dipped in red color; then, resting his elbow on his side, to form a sort of compass, with one turn of the hand he drew a circle, so perfect and exact that it was a marvel to behold. This done, he turned smiling to the courtier, saying, 'Here is your drawing. Am I to have nothing more than this?' inquired the latter, conceiving himself to be jested with. 'That is enough and to spare,' returned Giotto ; 'send it with the rest, and you will see if it will be recognized.' The messenger, unable to obtain anything more, went away very ill-satisfied, and fearing that he had been fooled. Nevertheless, having dispatched the other drawings to the pope, with the names of those who had done them, he sent that of Giotto also, relating the mode in which he had made his circle, without moving his

arm and without compasses; from which the pope, and such of the courtiers as were well versed in the subject, perceived how far Giotto surpassed all the other painters of the time. This incident, becoming known, gave rise to the proverb, still used in relation to people of dull wits, Tu sei più tondo che l'O di Giotto [Thou art rounder than the O of Giotto], the significance of which consists in the double meaning of the word tondo, which is used in the Tuscan for slowness of intellect and heaviness of comprehension, as well as for an exact circle."

xxiii. 3, Nicolo, 1207-1278, architect and sculptor. (4) Cimabue, 1240-1302, patron and teacher of Giotto. (6) Ghiberti, Lorenzo, 1381-1455, who made eastern doors of Baptistry at Florence, said by Michael Angelo to be worthy of being the gates of Paradise; Ghirlandajo, popular name of Domenico Bigordi, 1449-1494, great fresco painter of Florence.

xxv. 6, dree, suffer, endure, Anglo-Saxon dreógan.

xxvi. 2, Sandro, Filipepi, usually called Botticelli, 1457-1515, disciple of Savonarola, painted mythological subjects. (3) Lippino, 1460-1505, son of Fra Lippo Lippi, successful Florentine painter; he was wronged because others were credited with his work. (4) Fra Angelico, 1387-1455, greatest of distinctly ascetic painters. (5) Taddeo Gaddi, 1300-1366, godson and pupil of Giotto, painter and architect, who carried on the building of the campanile after the death of his master. (6) intonaco, rough plaster cast. (8) Lorenzo Monaco, monk and painter, severe in style.

xxvii. 2, Pollajolo, 1430-1498, painter, sculptor, and goldsmith, first artist to study anatomy. (7) Alesso Baldovinetti, 1422–1499, followed minute style.

xxviii. 1, Margheritone, 1236-1313, painter, sculptor, and architect. He represented the ascetic and supernatural, and his chief subject was the crucifixion. His chief Madonna, now in the London National Gallery, is grim and weird. The Browning Society's Papers report that Browning possessed the Crucifixion here described as well as the pictures by Alesso Baldovinetti, Taddeo Gaddi, and Pollajolo which he has described in the poem. Margheritone is depicted as in funeral garb because deeply annoyed at the success of Giotto.

xxix. 8, Carlino, Carlo Dolci, 1616-1686, whose work was superfine but lifeless.

xxx. 4, a certain precious little tablet is thus mentioned in a letter written by Browning to Professor Corson : "The little tablet was a famous Last Supper, mentioned by Vasari, and gone astray long ago from the Church of S. Spirito; it turned up, according to report, in some obscure corner, while I was in Florence, and was at once acquired by a stranger. I saw it, genuine or no, a work of great beauty."

xxxi. 1, San Spirito, fourteenth-century church in Florence. (2) Ognissanti, All Saints Church. (4) Detur amanti, Let it be given to the loving. (5) Koh-i-noor, celebrated diamond now belonging to Empress Victoria. (6) Giamschid, second greatest diamond, belonging to Shah of Persia.

xxxii. 1, a certain dotard, Joseph Wenzel Radetzky, 1766-1858,

who governed Austrian possessions in Italy, then eighty-nine years

old.

xxxiii. 3, Witanagemot, Anglo-Saxon national assembly of wise men. (4) quod videas ante, which you may have seen before. (8) Orgagna, Andrea, 1315-1376, painter of the school of Giotto.

XXXV. 3, half-told tale of Cambuscan; in his Il Penseroso Milton refers to the unfinished Squire's Tale of Chaucer, —

Or call up him that left half-told

The story of Cambuscan bold.

Browning compares with it the uncompleted campanile. Giotto's plan of raising the campanile to the height of fifty braccia, or about one hundred feet, Browning hopes will be realized. (5) beccaccia, woodcock.

47. SAUL. Based on 1 Samuel xvi. 14–23. (i. 1) Abner, 1 Samuel xxvi. 5.

v. 3, I first played the tune; what follows has a remarkable resemblance to a passage in the Daphnis and Chloe of Longus, who describes the playing of a pastoral melody that causes the oxen to obey, attracts the goats, and gives delight to the sheep.

vi. 4, jerboa, a rodent six inches in length, that, when it runs rapidly does so by a series of jumps.

viii. 4, male-sapphires, of large size, sapphire being same as lapislazuli.

58. MY STAR. (4) angled spar ; 66 spar is a generic word applied to any mineral which breaks into regular surfaces, and reflects the light, or has, as we say, lustre."-Rolfe and Hersey. (9) dartles, frequentive of "dart," first used by Browning.

59. BY THE FIRESIDE. Describes mountains near baths of Lucca, where Brownings spent their summers in 1849 and 1853. Mrs. Browning wrote of the place: "We have taken a sort of eagle's nest in this place, the highest house of the highest of the three villages which are called Bagni di Lucca, and which lie at the heart of a hundred mountains sung to continually by a rushing mountain stream. The sound of the river and of the cicale is all the sound we hear.... And the beauty and the solitude for with a few paces we get free of the habitations of men—all is delightful to me. What is peculiarly beautiful and wonderful is the variety of the shapes of the mountains. They are a multitude, and yet there is no likeness."

67:6, that great brow and the spirit-small hand, a description of Mrs. Browning; and the whole poem is devoted to the poet's conception of married life.

79. RESPECTABILITY. Professor Corson says of this poem: "These two unconventional Bohemian lovers strolling together at night, at their own sweet will, see down the court along which they are strolling three lampions flare, which indicate some big place or other where the respectables do congregate; and the woman says to the companion, with a humorous sarcasm, Put forward your best foot! that is, we must be very correct passing along here in this brilliant light. By the lovers are evidently meant George Sand (the speaker) and Jules Sandeau, with whom she lived in Paris, after she left her

husband, M. Dudevant. They took just such unconventional nightstrolls together in the streets of Paris."

88. THE GUARDIAN ANGEL: A PICTURE AT FANO. Fano is a small city in northeastern Italy, and in its church of St. Augustine is a picture called L'Angelo Custode, painted by Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino, 1590-1666. This picture of a guardian angel "represents an angel standing with outstretched wings by a little child. The child is half-kneeling on a kind of pedestal, while the angel joins its hands in prayer; its gaze is directed upward towards the sky, from which cherubs are looking down." It was visited with Mrs. Browning, who is alluded to, as is also their friend Alfred Domett, then in New Zealand, indicated by its river, Wairoa. "This Mr. Domett seems to have been a very modest man," says Mrs. Orr, "besides a devoted friend of Robert Browning's, and on occasion a warm defender of his works. When he read the apostrophe to 'Alfred, dear friend,' in the 'Guardian Angel,' he had reached the last line before it occurred to him that the person invoked could be he."

92. MASTER HUGUES OF SAXE-GOTHA. (i. 2) Master Hugues, an imaginary composer. (4) mountainous fugues; fugue is a continuous musical theme, around which other themes in harmony with it are developed that give it interpretation, and that give it a more adequate and complete expression. It has been described as "a short, complete melody, which flies (hence the name) from one part to another, while the original part is continued in counterpoint against it." vi. 1, Aloys and Jurien and Just, imaginary assistants of the sacris

tan.

viii. 4, claviers, the key-board of the organ.

ix. 4, two great breves; a breve is the longest note in music, and formerly was square in shape.

xvi. 5, 0 Danaides, O Sieve; Danaides were daughters of Danaus, who were condemned to forever pour water through a sieve.

xvii. 3, Escobar, a Spanish casuist of Mendoza, who sought for excuses for human frailty.

xviii. 1, Est fuga, volvitur rota, it is a flight, the wheel rolls itself round.

xix. 2, risposting, fencing term, here used as equivalent to making a repartee.

xx. 5, tickens, ticken (= ticking), a twill fabric very closely woven. xxviii. 1, meâ pœnâ, at my risk of punishment. (5) mode Palestrina, that of the great composer of church music for the Catholic Church, 1524–1594.

97. THE RETURN OF THE DRUSES. (3) dread incarnate mystery; the central idea of the Druses is that of the incarnation, and though they maintain that God is an absolute unity, yet they hold to his manifestation in human form as a type or expression of his real being. (4) to resume its pristine shape; the founder was Hakeem Biamr Allah, the sixth Fatimite Caliph of Egypt, who in 1216 announced himself as the tenth incarnation of the Spirit of God; and it is held by the Druses that another incarnation, which will be the previous ones in another form, will bring the whole world into the Druse church. (5) as the Khalif vanished erst refers to the fact that the